British Columbia · Seller Report
The highest number is not always the best offer, and experienced sellers know it.
Price is one term among several. A slightly lower offer with a large deposit, short subject periods and a completion date that suits you can easily be worth more than a higher one that might collapse in two weeks.
Here is how to read an offer properly, what to counter on, and the mistakes that cost sellers real money.
Part one
Reading an offer: six terms besides price
The subject conditions
Financing, inspection, strata document review, sale of the buyer’s home. Each is a door the buyer can walk out of. Fewer conditions and shorter periods mean a more certain sale.
A subject to sale of buyer’s home condition is the weakest of all — it depends on an event neither of you controls. If you accept one, make sure it has a time clause letting you continue to market.
The deposit
Held in the brokerage’s trust account. A larger deposit signals commitment and gives you a genuine remedy if the buyer fails to complete. A small deposit on a large purchase is worth asking about.
Check when it is due — on acceptance, or on subject removal. The difference matters.
Completion and possession dates
If you have already bought, the right date can be worth more to you than several thousand dollars in price. If you need time, a buyer who is flexible is genuinely valuable. Say what you need — buyers often do not care.
Included and excluded items
Appliances, window coverings, the shed, the hot tub, the light fixture your mother gave you. Get this exactly right in the contract. Disputes over items at the final walkthrough are common, entirely avoidable, and sour a closing.
Who the buyer is, and how solid they are
Are they pre-approved, and with whom? Is their own sale firm or still conditional? Your agent can and should ask the buyer’s agent. A cooperative answer tells you something; an evasive one tells you more.
The expiry time on the offer
Offers expire. Short deadlines are sometimes genuine and sometimes pressure. Know exactly when it lapses before you start deliberating.
Part two
Your three responses, and when to use each
Accept
When
The price is at or near your number and the terms are clean. Do not lose a good offer chasing the last $5,000 — it happens constantly and it is almost always a bad trade.
Counter
When
The usual response. Counter on the terms as well as the price: a larger deposit, a shorter subject period, a different completion date. Buyers frequently concede terms more readily than price, and terms often matter more to you.
Watch out for
A counter-offer legally terminates the original offer — the buyer is free to walk. On an offer you would genuinely accept, weigh that before countering over a small amount.
Reject, or let it expire
When
Rarely the right move early. Even a low offer is a buyer who has seen your home and is willing to transact. A counter keeps them at the table; a rejection sends them to the next listing.
The exception is an offer so far below market that engaging simply invites a slow grind downwards.
Part three
Multiple offers, and the three-day rule
You can only accept one. With several offers in hand you can accept one, counter one (which terminates it and leaves the others live), or counter several — which creates real risk, because if more than one is accepted you may have sold your home twice. Take your agent’s guidance on the mechanics here; this is where errors get expensive.
Handle it in writing and treat everyone the same way. Disclosure obligations apply in a competing-offer situation and buyers’ agents will scrutinise the process. Be scrupulous about it — it protects you as much as them.
Remember the rescission period. BC’s Home Buyer Rescission Period lets a buyer back out within three business days of acceptance, for a fee of 0.25% of the offer price paid to you. It cannot be waived. In practice this means an accepted offer is not truly firm until those days have passed — do not release the other buyers the moment you sign.
Part four
The five most expensive seller mistakes
- Revealing your motivation. “We need to be out by June” is worth thousands to a buyer. Your reason for selling is confidential between you and your agent, and it should stay there.
- Negotiating directly with the buyer. At an open house, over the fence, by text. It sounds friendly and it consistently costs sellers money. Everything through your agent.
- Taking a lowball personally. It is an opening position, not a verdict on your home. Counter it.
- Chasing the last few thousand. The gap between $968,000 and $972,000 is real but small. Losing the buyer over it and selling six weeks later for $955,000 is a genuinely common outcome.
- Accepting a weak offer at a strong price. A high number with a subject-to-sale condition, a tiny deposit and a long subject period is an option, not a sale.
Questions we get asked
Can I keep the deposit if the buyer walks away?
It depends on when and why. A buyer who does not remove their subject conditions by the deadline is generally entitled to their deposit back — that is what a condition is. A buyer who removes conditions and then fails to complete is in a different position entirely, and deposit funds are typically released only by agreement between the parties or by court order. Get legal advice if it happens.
Should I set an offer date?
It can work well when there is genuine competition, and it can backfire when there is not — a deadline that passes with no offers weakens you visibly. It suits a strong, well-priced listing in an active market. Discuss it as a strategy rather than defaulting to it.
Do I have to disclose the other offers?
You do not have to say what the other offers contain, and generally should not. Whether there are competing offers is normally disclosed — and there are rules and professional obligations around how this is handled. Let your agent manage the process properly.
What if the buyer asks for repairs after the inspection?
You can agree, refuse, or offer a price reduction instead of doing the work — which is often cleanest for both sides. What matters is whether the request is proportionate. A genuine safety or structural issue is one conversation; a list of maintenance items is a renegotiation attempt, and you can say so.
Have someone negotiate who does it weekly
Most people negotiate a home sale two or three times in their life. We do it constantly. If you want a view on an offer already in front of you, call — even if we are not your agent.
Call 778‑234‑2000 Prefer to write? Send a message insteadPlease note: Contract terms, deposit remedies and disclosure obligations depend on the specific contract and the circumstances. This page is general information about British Columbia and Canadian rules, current at the time of writing, and is not legal, tax, financial or mortgage advice. Figures and programs change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the relevant authority or a qualified professional. Sonny Bhinder is a licensed REALTOR®, not a lawyer, accountant or mortgage broker. Not intended to solicit properties currently listed for sale, or to cause a breach of an existing agency relationship.